The activists of the group “Last Generation” in front of the smeared Monet in Potsdam’s Barberini Museum Photo: Uncredited/Last Generation/AP/dpa
From BZ/dpa
After the attack by climate activists on Claude Monet’s painting “Grainstacks” (1890), the Potsdam Museum Barberini has extended the controls on visitors.
“As part of the tightened security measures, bag checks are taking place,” said a museum spokeswoman on Monday on request. Furthermore, only bags that are no larger than DIN A4 may be taken into the exhibition.
According to the Last Generation climate protection protest group, a man and a woman spilled mashed potatoes on the painting on Sunday. The group called on politicians to take effective measures to limit climate change.
The glassed image was examined after the attack and became noisy museum therefore not damaged.
The two climate activists carried shoulder bags during the attack that corresponded to the size that could be taken into the exhibition, according to the museum spokeswoman. “The mashed potatoes were in small containers that could theoretically have been worn on the body unnoticed.” According to the spokeswoman’s latest information, five to six people were involved in the attack.
The police are investigating two suspects for property damage and trespassing, said a police spokeswoman. They are accused of splashing the painting with a yellow liquid on Sunday afternoon. Then the two would have stuck near the picture with one hand each.
The foundation of the museum founder and multi-billionaire Hasso Plattner acquired Monet’s picture in New York in 2019 for almost 111 million euros. “Mr. Plattner is very affected,” said the museum spokeswoman. “We coordinate our approach closely with him.”